Today, the European Commission initiated its first investigation under its International Procurement Instrument (IPI), in response to measures and practices in the Chinese procurement market for medical devices which it says "discriminate unfairly against European companies and products."

At a meeting of the WTO's Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures today, issues related to the EU's countervailing duty investigation on Chinese electric vehicles, subsidies and overcapacity, and U.S. semiconductor subsidies were all discussed.

In official notices published yesterday, the European Commission has provided additional details on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation investigation it is undertaking in relation to a public procurement contract for a Romanian government solar project, based on Chinese subsidies to some of the companies involved.

In a recent CNN interview, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai offered a number of comments on China trade issues, including overcapacity, the current Section 301 tariffs, and former President Trump's proposed tariffs on China.

On April 19, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued the final ruling on the anti-dumping investigation on polycarbonate imports from Taiwan, lowering the anti-dumping rates for four responding companies.

Last week, UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden gave a speech at Chatham House on economic security in which he indicated that the UK would be ratcheting up its efforts on national security reviews of inbound investment, outbound investment, and export controls.

Last Friday, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced its preliminary ruling on the anti-dumping investigation of U.S. chemicals, imposing a 43.5% anti-dumping duty.